Five days before he'll play his first match, Dmitry Tursunov arrived at rain-drenched River Oaks on Saturday, far from tennis' madding crowd. The stately old Houston club holds happy memories for him, both personal and professional, so he sounded perfectly content to be here, even if bigger things might be going on elsewhere.

It could be worse, Tursunov figures. After all, he's the No. 1 seed in the 73rd River Oaks International, which starts Monday.

"I feel very comfortable here," Tursunov said.

After playing a major role for Russia last year in its first victorious Davis Cup campaign, going 3-0 in singles and partnering Marat Safin to a crucial doubles victory in the final against Argentina, he finds himself on the bench. He's off to a slow start this season because of a nagging wrist injury that surfaced in January, and the Russian-France quarterfinal in Moscow next weekend will be played on clay, hardly this Muscovite's favorite surface.

Tursunov readily concedes the team that Russia's captain, Shamil Tarpischev, will lead against the French is the right one, even if he isn't part of it.

"With the wrist," he said, "nobody knows if I could go five sets. I think they made the decision that was best for the team. It wasn't about me personally. I'm not ready for this (tie). It was better to pick somebody else.

"I don't take it personally. There are times when you have to sit out and there are times when you have to step up to the plate."

A blogger deluxeHaving played only four matches in 2007, Tursunov hopes to get in a full week's work at River Oaks to find out if the wrist is healing properly. He doesn't plan to stay over for the last U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships at Westside Tennis Club, being of the opinion he'll be better served practicing in Monte Carlo for the Masters Series tournament that starts there April 16.

As a non-ATP event, River Oaks can't damage his ranking, currently No. 22. He had climbed to a career-high 20th last fall, propelled by his first tour title in Mumbai, India.

When Tursunov first came to Houston for River Oaks in 2004, only the most devoted of tennis fans knew his name. Now, because he has cracked the top 25 and his Davis Cup heroics — he beat Andy Roddick in an epic battle that ended with a 17-15 fifth set in the Russia-U.S. semifinals — plus the widespread popularity of the witty, well-written blog he does for the ATP Web site, he has turned into a full-blown star at 24.

After spending half his life in Northern California (his father dispatched him there to improve his tennis), Tursunov speaks English with just a trace of an accent. Irreverent without being cruel or overtly contro-versial, he's without question the ATP's No. 1 blogger.

"We're very proud and honored to have Dmitry back," River Oaks tennis director Van Barry said. "I was surprised when I found out he was available, but it was great for our tournament."

Tursunov was the runner-up to James Blake in 2005. Like most of the less prominent players, he previously bunked in the homes of River Oaks families. Because of the Davis Cup uncertainties, he opted for a hotel this time so as to not put anyone out. But, again, he's not in Houston grudgingly. In some ways, he's relieved to be removed from the pressure cooker, never mind that he's 5-0 in Davis Cup singles matches.

"It was a lot of fun being with the team," Tursunov said, "but it was very nerve-wracking, too, maybe more nerve-wracking for me than fun. It definitely has a different feel from an individual match."

Vemic continues rollIf healthy — and he often hasn't been, suffering through major back problems early in his career — Tursunov believes he's capable of cracking the top 10.

"I have many things to improve," he said. "But I think I have the ability."

Vemic, who had advanced out of the tournament's qualifying draw the last two years, plays third seed Frank Moser in the semifinals at 9 a.m. today. Moser defeated 15-year-old Houstonian Harry Fowler 6-4, 6-3. Bruno Rosa plays Evgheni Corduneanu in the other semi. The final follows at 2 p.m.